The Bachelor 2021 Power Rankings (Week 3)

NOTE: These power rankings account for everything that happens in the actual episodes. They do NOT take into account future episode previews or any spoilers floating around the Internet.

I also provide my thoughts on this week’s Sarah drama.

All power rankings blog posts: week 9, week 8, week 7, week 6, week 5, week 4, week 3, week 2, week 1

WARNING: SPOILERS from the third week coming.

Enjoy!

Source: BachelorABC Twitter (https://twitter.com/BachelorABC/status/1350895672917188614/photo/1)

1. Abigail, 25, a client financial manager from Beaverton, Ore. (no change) — The recipient of Matt’s first impression rose does not have a prominent role in this week’s episode amidst the Sarah drama, but I haven’t seen anything yet to downgrade her chances quite yet. Sometimes first impression rose recipients end up fading as time goes on (e.g. the last season of The Bachelorette), but I do think Abigail will get a one-on-one date in the coming weeks. There’s still a lot of time.
2. Serena P., 22, a publicist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (+7) — Serena P. gets the one-on-one date rose this week after an adventurous date featuring horseback rides, hot tubs, and turtles. She opens up about her dad being unsupportive of her journey on the The Bachelor — I wonder what this means if she makes it to Hometowns. Serena says she’s “falling in like right now” with Matt, while Matt says “I’m just so attracted to Serena and enchanted with who she is.” It seems like they genuinely enjoy spending time with each other — I expect Serena to make a deep run.
3. Bri, 24, a communications manager from San Francisco, Calif. (-1) — During the love story group date, Bri makes a cute reference to their one-on-one date from the previous week, saying “she picked up the cold hard earth and started slowly moving it up and down the front of his shirt, massaging his rock hard muscles.” Matt appreciates this, and they share a nice kiss during the group date cocktail party.
4. Rachael, 24, a graphic designer from Cumming, Ga. (no change) — Rachael gets the group date rose this week and continues to get a lot of screen time. Matt says “I like how our relationship is progressing” while Rachael says “I haven’t felt this way in a long time…I haven’t felt this way this quickly ever.” Rachael should be getting her one-on-one date soon.
5. Lauren, 29, a corporate attorney from Miami, Fla. (no change) — I have nothing in my notes about Lauren this week, but she retains a high position because of her previous group date rose.
6. Katie, 29, a bank marketing manager from Renton, Wash. (+5) — I was initially skeptical of Katie’s chances, but she seems to be getting a ton of screen time. She handles the Sarah drama really well, confronting her about interrupting the group date without going overboard, and later comforting her after the other women in the house went in for the kill. There’s an argument for ranking Katie even higher based on screen time, but I’d like to see more of her chemistry with Matt first.
7. Victoria, 27, a queen from Los Angeles, Calif. (+7) — So apparently Victoria is no longer the villain of the season. She seemed to have gone completely off the deep end in the first two weeks, especially after she viciously took out Marylynn. But in this episode the attention shifts to Sarah, and Victoria’s relationship with the other women in the house seems to have improved. I said last week that her trajectory was unsustainable, but that no longer seems so clear. If her role as the villain really is over, her odds of making it a few more weeks aren’t awful since she has been open and enthusiastic in pursuing her relationship with Matt.
8. Mari, 24, a marketing director from Odenton, Md. (-2) — Also nothing in my notes about Mari this week. The Sarah drama really seems to have taken up a lot of minutes.
9. Jessenia, 27, a social media marketer from San Antonio, Texas (-2)
10. Khaylah, 28, a healthcare advocate from Durham, N.C. (-2)
11. Kit, 21, a socialite from New York City, N.Y. (-1) — We still haven’t seen much of Kit, but she could be a dark horse down the line.
12. Serena C., 24, a flight attendant from San Francisco, Calif. (+3) — Serena C. continues to get a ton of screen time with interviews, which is a good sign for her. Amidst the Sarah drama, she says “I’m pissed right now but once I get my time I’ll be a new person.”
13. Anna, 24, a copywriter from Chicago, Ill. (+7) — Anna has also been getting more screen time lately.
14. Chelsea, 28, a runway model from Brooklyn, N.Y. (-2) — Chelsea, on the other hand, hasn’t really made much of a splash recently.
15. MJ, 23, a hairstylist from Hudson, Ohio (+2)
16. Kaili, 26, a hostess from Chicago, Ill. (-3)
17. Pieper, 23, a graduate student from Happy Valley, Ore. (+1)
18. Magi, 32, a pharmacist from Adwa, Ethiopia (+1)

Sent Home: Before we move on, I’d like to take a moment to congratulate myself on some pretty solid week 2 power rankings. At the end of last week’s episode, there were 24 women remaining. In this week’s Rose Ceremony, the women I slated in positions #24, #23, #22, #21, and #16 were sent home. The woman I had in position #3 also went home, but we’ll just say that doesn’t count because she left voluntarily.

Pro-Tip: Always watch out for screen time. There is a strong inverse relationship between screen time and going home, especially early on.

• Illeana, 25, a health food developer from New York City, N.Y. (previously ranked 24)
• Sydney, 28, a marketing specialist from Nashville, Tenn. (previously ranked 23)
• Kristin, 27, an attorney from Jersey City, N.J. (previously ranked 22)
• Marylynn, 28, an event coordinator from Studio City, Calif. (previously ranked 21)
• Alana, 26, a photographer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (previously ranked 16)
• Sarah, 24, a broadcast journalist from San Diego, Calif. (previously ranked 3)

My thoughts on the Sarah drama:

1. Sarah probably should have just waited for her own group date to talk with Matt.
2. Sarah developed a very strong connection with Matt during their one-on-one date. But surely she should have known that this is The Bachelor and that Matt is naturally going to form connections with other women.
3. The response from the other women to the Sarah drama was disproportionate and completely overboard. The other women in the house quite frankly bullied her when they could have just minded their own business or at least not been so aggressively hostile. Sarah tried to apologize to the group, but the group did not seem to want to make amends and move on.
4. The only woman who came out of the Sarah drama looking better was Katie. While she did confront Sarah about taking time during the group date, she seemed to be fair and didn’t go overboard. And later, she spoke with Sarah one-on-one and empathized with her situation. At the end of the episode, she reminded the other women to “stay classy in this process.” Well said.
5. If Matt’s connections with the other women fizzle out, there’s an outside chance that he runs after Sarah at the end. But it’s definitely not something I’d bet on.